The Best Lentil Soup

This is the BEST lentil soup ever, made in 1 pot with budget friendly ingredients. Naturally thick, satisfying and filling! Perfect with some fresh crusty bread for dipping.

This lentil soup is anything but bland. It’s FULL of flavor between the spices, fresh vegetables and even a squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

One thing I absolutely love about colder weather is enjoying a warm bowl of soup, perhaps with a cozy sweater while watching the leaves change outside. But I honestly enjoy soup all year long. I love how I can make a big pot of soup and have leftovers for several days, or even freeze some for a rainy day.

A few of my other favorite soup recipes include Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup and Vegan Potato Soup.

You’ll want to make this lentil soup all year long! It’s:

• Budget friendly, made with inexpensive ingredients
• Satisfying, filling and full of protein
• Filled with greens
• Kid-friendly
• & SO easy to make!

Ingredients needed

• Olive oil – for sautéing the vegetables, may omit or use vegetable broth for oil free.
• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Celery
• Crushed or diced tomatoes – I usually use diced tomatoes, but you can use crushed if you don’t like having chunks of tomatoes in your soup.
• Green/brown lentils – I wouldn’t use red here, as they sort of melt into the soup.
• Vegetable broth – I almost always use Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base. It has great flavor and is so easy to store.
• Spices – Cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, salt.
• Baby spinach – You can substitute kale, if desired.
• Lemon juice – Don’t skip this, it really takes the soup to the next level!

What kind of lentils should I use?

Use either green or brown lentils for this soup. Both work well; they hold their shape while thickening the soup. You could even use black lentils, but your soup will be a lot less thick. So go for green or brown!

Red lentils are wonderful in many dishes, but not this soup. They are very soft and mushy once cooked, and in this soup we really want the lentils to hold their shape. I love using red lentils in marinara when I want to add nutrition and protein without changing the consistency very much, like in The Best Vegan Lasagna. I also use red lentils in Cauliflower Sweet Potato Curry Soup and Red Lentil Lemon Soup.

How do you make lentil soup?

This is a very simple recipe to make.

First, in a large soup pot, cook the onions, garlic, carrots and celery in a bit of olive oil for about 4-5 minutes.

Next, add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the spinach and lemon juice. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the soup is thickened and the lentils are tender.

Use an immersion blender and blend a few times right in the pot to make the soup creamy. Alternatively, you could add a few cups of soup to a blender, blend until smooth then add back to the pot.

Finally, stir in the spinach, lemon juice and season with salt to taste. If you want to use kale instead of spinach, give it about 10 minutes to simmer in the soup.

Enjoy with some fresh, crusty bread if desired or even with some brown rice.

Tips for success

• Blend a little of the soup to make it creamy, with no cream needed!
• Use brown or green lentils, NOT red.
• Don’t skip the lemon juice, it really brings out the flavors of the soup.
• Switch up the veggies based on what you have, such as green peas, a potato/sweet potato, broccoli or cauliflower.

Leftovers and freezing

This soup recipe makes quite a bit, so consider freezing your leftovers if you don’t think you will eat it within 5 days. You can freeze it in individual containers for quick, easy meals in the future! Or freeze half of the soup in a large container or large freezer bag.

Warm leftover soup in the microwave or a pot on the stove. Perfect for healthy meal prep!

More amazing vegan soup recipes

• Easy Vegan Tomato Soup
• Vegan Minestrone Soup
• Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
• Black Bean Soup
• Super Creamy Cauliflower Kale Soup

*This recipe was first published in November 2018 and has been reposted with improved photos and writing.

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